SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign . . . 

Today’s first reading tells the story of David and Bathsheba. You’re probably familiar with it: David spies Bathsheba bathing and begins to lust after her. He has her brought to him, and their encounter results in Bathsheba becoming pregnant. To hide his guilt, David conspires to have her husband killed so that he could take her as one of his many wives.

But how did it all start? The first verse of the reading tells us something interesting. It was the turn of the year, the time when kings would go out on campaign with their armies. All the kings went. Every year. But where was David? At home, taking siestas and strolling about on the roof of the palace (2 Samuel 11:2). He wasn’t leading his army; he was having a vacation. And that’s when he discovered the beautiful Bathsheba.

Now, vacations aren’t bad. But David’s downward spiral began because he wasn’t doing what he should have been doing in the first place. Unfaithfulness to his duties led to even more unfaithfulness. And that can happen to us too.

God, in his grace, calls us and gives us certain structures and rhythms to our lives that are meant to help us grow in virtue. We have our prayer times, Mass, and even the demands of our jobs or vocations. There’s a kind of protection in staying faithful to these “guardrails.”

David might very well have become bored with his springtime forays onto the battlefield every year, even though they protected the people God had given him to lead. We too might think we’re just doing our same old daily routines. We might wonder how important they are anyway. But faithfulness protects us. God uses even our ordinary habits to lift us up and shelter us from temptation.

Are you being faithful to what God is calling you to do, or are you getting bored and wandering off? You can find joy even in your mundane tasks or repetitive duties because God is there. So try to approach each routine task with a desire to please God. He will bless your faithfulness and pour out his grace to draw you closer to him.

“Lord, help me to follow you faithfully!”

Psalm 51:3-7, 10-11
Mark 4:26-34
2 Samuel 11:1-10, 13-17